PIF: Red Deer, Shave Ready

[Slash McCoy]

Up for grabs, one Red Deer razor, shave ready. This razor made in Pakistan and appears to be some sort of stainless steel. I managed to put a respectable edge on it, but it doesn't seem to last more than a couple of shaves before it needs attention on the pasted balsa strop. If the pasted balsa strop is prepared and used as per the Pasted Balsa Strop thread, it should shave indefinitely without honing. Otherwise it will need frequent touchups. And so, practitioners of Method honing will get first consideration. The winner should feel free to pass the razor around, or to re-PIF it, as he sees fit. I just thought maybe someone else might want to have a go at it. CONUS only, please. Beginners must already have a hanging leather strop, and be willing to commit to assembling a lapped and backed balsa strop with .1u diamond or CBN. PIF will close one week from today.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I'm in. I have a hanging strop as well as pasted balsa. I would love to try it out. Thanks for the opportunity.

Edit: For complete transparency, I have not tried the 'method' yet.

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[jaro 101969]

I'm in . I also have leather / linen strip already... I have wondered about that brand straight before and would be interested in trying it out...

 

[Slash McCoy]

I'm in . I also have leather / linen strip already... I have wondered about that brand straight before and would be interested in trying it out...

This razor will want more than just leather and linen. The edge deteriorates quickly without the diamond on lapped balsa.

 

[emwolf]

I'm in, I only have the leather linen, but I would be willing to learn the Method and purchase a balsa (I must ask, who says "ball-zuh" and who says "ball-suh"?). I have not yet started straight shaving but was wanting to learn.

 

[jaro 101969]

This razor will want more than just leather and linen. The edge deteriorates quickly without the diamond on lapped balsa.

i can get the balsa thats no problem.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I'm in, I only have the leather linen, but I would be willing to learn the Method and purchase a balsa (I must ask, who says "ball-zuh" and who says "ball-suh"?). I have not yet started straight shaving but was wanting to learn.

I say it like I spell it. Balsa.

You will want a 12" x 3" x 3/4" block of acrylic. Optionally, you can go 1" thick instead of 3/4". You will want a piece of balsa 12" x 3" x 1/4". Sometimes you can only find 36" long but okay, so that makes three strops, and later you may want the full progression of .5u, .25u, and .1u diamond. Glue the balsa to the acrylic. No, do not use wood. Do not use gorilla glue... it expands. Spray adhesive works good. Rubber cement works good. After the glue is cured, glue a sheet of 320 or 400 grit sandpaper to a polished marble or granite floor tile, or a very thick pane of glass. Not thin glass. It flexes too much and you need the lapping surface to stay completely flat. Lay the balsa strop balsa side down on the sandpaper and lap it until you have an entirely new surface on the balsa. This is important. Do not think for a moment that it is flat enough or smooth enough when you buy it. You must lap it. Last, apply diamond paste. Not spray. Not powder. The paste for whatever reason works better. Only apply a tiny amount. It should seem as though you do not have nearly enough. About half a pinto bean size blob. Dot it around and rub it in evenly with your fingertips, then rub it deeply into the balsa with the palm of your hand. Lightly rub with a tshirt to remove excess. You must not leave a coating on the balsa. The diamond must be deeply embedded into the balsa.

To use, hold the balsa in hand, not resting on a fixed surface or object. Hold it vertically, with one end up. Lay the razor against it and strop, 50 to 100 laps, with the lightest possible pressure, spine always in contact with the strop. If you raise the spine off the balsa then you FAIL. Flip the edge up and over when changing direction, not the spine. Spine always remains on the balsa. Do this after every shave. Then before shaving, strop on the hanging leather strop and NEVER put any abrasive on it. If you make the full progression, be careful to not contaminate a finer grit balsa with particles from a coarser grit. This means wiping the blade well, and washing your hands twice.

TAP Plastics is a good online seller for acrylic. For balsa I suggest your local hobby shop. For diamond, ebay or Amazon is generally okay but for a more certain outcome and expectation of quality, look up Ted Pella.

A lot of hassle, I know, but it is worth it. And this razor will only give you a couple of good shaves if you don't do it. Are you willing to go the distance?

For maintaining a razor that is already THIS sharp, .1u is all you need. That is one tenth micron, about 200,000 grit. For a razor that is honed to about the 12k grit level, you will need .5u, .25u, and .1u grit to achieve this level of edge. If the razor is not honed to the 12k grit or 1u grit level or a very good Jnat edge, then don't bother with the balsa.This razor, if you stay on top of it with the .1u diamond on balsa, will probably never need to be honed again.

 

[jaro 101969]

Hey i look at it like this its a great excuse to tell the wife " but honey i need the balsa for the razor." i now would have the perfect excuse to get one if im picked !!!!

 

[Lightcs1776]

I use the .3 micron pasted balsa once in a while, but strop regularly on .1 micron. It allows me to go months before honing again on film (one day I would like to try stones, but they can quickly get pricey).

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[Lightcs1776]

Hey i look at it like this its a great excuse to tell the wife " but honey i need the balsa for the razor." i now would have the perfect excuse to get one if im picked !!!!

You might get away with it. It's one of the cheaper things in SR shaving.

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[jaro 101969]

You might get away with it. It's one of the cheaper things in SR shaving.

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Yeah shes pretty easy to get along with concerning the hobby...

 

[jaro 101969]

i have noticed that diamond paste can be had in many colors. which do you recommend for this razor? i have seen green, brown, white, grey, black and blue available locally but i would assume those are probably not fine enough grit..correct?

 

[Slash McCoy]

i have noticed that diamond paste can be had in many colors. which do you recommend for this razor? i have seen green, brown, white, grey, black and blue available locally but i would assume those are probably not fine enough grit..correct?

Color doesn't matter. Why would color make a difference? Particle size is what matters. You want .1u for final stage and for maintenance. That is .1 micron, or 100 nanometers or 200,000 grit. Most of the stuff you find in a hardware store is not going to be suitable, not graded strictly enough, often not pure diamond abrasive. Buy online. Look for shops that specialize in fine cutlery or very fine woodworking stuff, or laboratory or fiber optic supplies. For your first time at bat, I recommend Ted Pella. What I have on deck right now is from kentsupplies.com but they don't have .1u so I have some Ted Pella almost used up and some from techdiamondtools.com in that grit. Don't worry about the color. That is arbitrary and the razor doesn't care. Go by the size in microns. A 5g tube lasts a LONG time so don't let sticker shock send you looking at Harbor Freight for something that "ought to work". BTW the concentration is not particularly important. If all you can find is 25% or even 10%, that's okay. No biggie. The performance difference from 50% diamond content is of little consequence.

 

[jaro 101969]

ok thanks.. see thats good to know that the paste isnt done like the films where different colors mean different grits.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Mine is from Whipped Dog. I haven't tried any other brands, so I have nothing else to compare it too, but it does the job.

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[Slash McCoy]

Mine is from Whipped Dog. I haven't tried any other brands, so I have nothing else to compare it too, but it does the job.

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That's a huge step down from diamond. Be aware of that. Green and red paste, right? Also not lapped and probably too much paste.

 

[Lightcs1776]

That's a huge step down from diamond. Be aware of that. Green and red paste, right? Also not lapped and probably too much paste.

Interesting. I will check out the paste you mentioned earlier. I appreciate the advice.

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[MilkCrate]

I am in please! Your newbie honing thread got me started down the path of lapping film and balsa strops.

 

[jholen]

I'm in.

Would be another good control razor for me as I continue down The Method path. Got my balsa strops setup and lapping film is landing Thursday.

 

[Slash McCoy]

ok thanks.. see thats good to know that the paste isnt done like the films where different colors mean different grits.

Many sellers do indeed use different colors for different grits. But ignore the color. Might not be consistent from one mfgr to the next. Look at the grit, and make sure it is diamond and not Chromium Oxide or Iron Oxide or Unobtanium Dimethyl Badstuff. The only thing that works as good or nearly as good as diamond is CBN. I have tried other abrasives and they do not give the same results. I even tried CrOx and FeOx but otherwise going strictly by The Method. It took several hundred laps on each, using Method techniques, to achieve an edge comparable to what the diamond delivers. It just isn't practical at all, and beginners are guaranteed to not get it right. It is like a beginning artist trying to make an exact copy of the Mona Lisa indistinguishable from the original... with crayons.